


Three Times Mike and Harvey’s Banter About Movies Didn’t Lead to a Declaration of Love and One Time It Did.

by dr_ducktator



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-09
Updated: 2013-03-09
Packaged: 2017-12-04 18:41:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/713815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dr_ducktator/pseuds/dr_ducktator
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One of the best things about Mike and Harvey's relationship is their banter, and it's their banter that will redefine that relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Times Mike and Harvey’s Banter About Movies Didn’t Lead to a Declaration of Love and One Time It Did.

**Author's Note:**

> Some fluffiness; quotations from _Batman_ , _American Psycho_ , _High Fidelity_ , _Grosse Pointe Blank_ , and _Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back_.

They’d had their first real, movie-related discussion not long after Mike joined the firm. They were on a coffee break outside. Even the best damn closer in New York needed fresh air.

“Michael Keaton was totally a better Batman than Christian Bale. Besides, I can’t really look at Bale the same post- _American Psycho_ ,” Mike blew on his coffee to cool it off.

What, the _Eggshell with Romalian type_ didn’t do it for you, either?” Harvey responded with a smile.

“It’s scary that you remember a line about the business cards that freaked out Patrick Bateman.”

“What, you get to corner the memory market? Besides, Christian Bale is an actor. It’s not like he actually murdered those people. Gee, Mike, I thought if anyone knew about pretending to be someone else it would be you.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Ha ha. It’s just that I always had a soft spot for him circa _Swing Kids_.

Now it was Harvey’s turn to roll his eyes.

“What? It’s a really good movie.”

“That’s beside the point. You need a better reason why Keaton is a better Batman. You may be a fake lawyer but you still have to use real logic. It doesn’t follow that just because you can’t look at Bale without seeing Patrick Bateman that his embodiment of Batman is worse than Keaton’s. You have to analyze the performances themselves.”

Mike sipped his coffee and looked thoughtful. “Fine. There was something more tragic about Keaton’s Batman. You felt his loss more. You felt lonely with him.”

“How can you be lonely _with_ someone?”

“Shut up. You know what I mean.”

Harvey wheeled on Mike. “Did you just tell me to shut up?”

“Yeah, I did. We’re not in the office. And we’re in public. Remember that.”

“I could still kick your ass. No one would question me. I have better hair and more gravitas.”

Mike got a wild look in his eyes and shouted, “Really? Okay. _You wanna get nuts? C’mon! Let’s get nuts!_ ”

Harvey started walking back into the building. He shot over his shoulder, “That’s cute, Bruce. Come on, back to work.”

Mike ran to catch up. “Did you just admit that I’m Bruce Wayne? Does that make you Alfred?”

Harvey took Mike gently by the back of the neck and led him to the elevators.

______________________________

The second conversation took place after Donna had waved Mike into Harvey’s office without a word. When she did that it usually meant Harvey only had twelve things going on instead of thirty-eight. Mike was feeling a little squirrelly, so he glided through the glass door.

“Harvey. People you’d want to play you in a movie version of your life. Go.” Mike strode over to the wall of records.

Harvey didn’t look up from his work. “Alive or dead? Don’t touch those.”

Mike had been about to flip through Harvey’s collection. He jerked his hands away like they’d been burned. He turned back to Harvey.

“Either. You pick.”

Harvey stood and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “George Clooney.”

Mike frowned. “Boo. Too safe. Too obvious. _Verrrrry pussy_.”

“Judging by your apparent affinity for _High Fidelity_ quotes I suppose you’d choose Jack Black?”

“I could do worse. Dude’s funny and he can sing and play guitar. Women dig that. Pick again.”

Harvey thought for a moment. “Gregory Peck.”

“Nope.” Mike shook his head. “Not allowed.”

“Why not?”

“Because Gregory Peck is Atticus Finch, and you, sir, are no Atticus Finch.”

“I could be.”

“No you couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I am,” Mike said, and moved to look out the window. “You know, fight for the little guy, care about my clients, tell children not to bother poor Boo Radley?”

Harvey stood next to Mike and looked out onto the city with him. “I thought we were discussing who we’d want to play us in a movie, not which fictional character we’re most like.”

“Humor me, Harvey.”

“Okay, but you’re less like Atticus Finch and more like Susan Sarandon in _The Client_.”

“I could pull that off.”

“You do have pretty good bone structure. That’s the last compliment you’ll hear from me today. Now get the hell out of here and get to work.”

Mike smiled as he left. Harvey liked his bone structure.

______________________________

The third time they were in Harvey’s office, but now the building was quiet. They were both working late, and despite Mike’s uncanny ability to work on very little sleep, he’d gotten a little punchy. Harvey wasn’t the spring chicken he once was, so he indulged Mike’s midnight – okay, 2am – merries as they took a little break.

Mike was lying on the floor, the files he had been going over were stacked on the table in front of the couch, and he was tossing one of Harvey’s less important baseballs in the air over and over. Harvey was tracking the movement from his desk chair.

“ _Better Off Dead_ or _Say Anything_?” Mike asked.

“ _Grosse Pointe Blank_.”

“You would prefer the one with the hitman.”

“ _Don’t tease me. You know what I do for a living._ ”

Mike smiled to himself and tossed the baseball into the air. “ _I just find it amusing that you came from somewhere._ ”

Harvey swiveled his chair back and forth. “Hey, _I show up at your door, chances are you did something to bring me there._ ”

“Did you ever go to your high school reunion?”

Harvey didn’t miss a beat in the quick change in conversation. “What do you think?”

“I honestly don’t know. I mean, on the one hand I could see you never wanting to see anyone from back then ever again. On the other hand, I could see you wanting to show up being all Harvey Specter.”

“Being all ‘Harvey Specter’? What does that mean?”

“You know, being all… _you_ : suave, debonair, devastatingly handsome.”

Harvey couldn’t help but feel something warm settle inside him. Nevertheless, he maintained his composure. “Some mysteries are never meant to be solved.”

“You’re really not gonna tell me?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

Harvey walked over and snatched the ball out of mid-air. “Because you haven’t earned the right to know.”

“How do I earn the right to know?”

“My point exactly.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you have to ask, you’ll never find out. And the fact that you even asked demonstrates that you haven’t earned the right.” He returned the ball to its little pedestal.

“You’re mean.”

“No, I’m Harvey.”

Mike sat up to face Harvey. “Cute.”

“Thank you. I think so, too, but what happened to ‘suave, debonair, and devastatingly handsome’?”

A small blush crept up Mike’s cheeks. “I plead the fifth.”

“That’s clever. Only it isn’t.”

“You’re crabby when you’re tired.”

Harvey went back to his desk. “No, I’m crabby when I don’t find what I’m looking for.” He sat down, effectively ending their break.

They went back to their work, but it was only about half an hour later when Mike jumped up from his place on Harvey’s couch. “Eureka!”

“Did you find me the loophole? And did you just say ‘eureka’?”

“Yes. And better. I found you two loopholes and a get-out-of-jail-free card.”

“I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean, but I’ll let it go since you’re sleep deprived. Now show me.”

Mike rounded the desk and slapped five different documents down for Harvey to see.

“Nice work. Looks like I won’t have to show up at your door after all. For now, anyway.”

In his best Alan Arkin-type voice Mike replied, “ _That wasn’t a nice thing to say. That wasn’t designed to make me feel good. _”__

__“Relax Dr. Oatman, you’re off the hook.”_ _

_________________________________ _

The conversation that changed everything had started in the library and continued into the men’s room. Mike didn’t even have to pee, but he couldn’t let it go. The _Star Wars_ franchise was serious business. He leaned back on the counter, a look of disbelief on his face.

“ _The Empire Strikes Back_ is not better than _A New Hope_.”

“I didn’t say it _is_ better, I said I _liked_ it better,” Harvey replied as he washed his hands.

“How could you even like it better? Present your case, counselor.”

“I don’t have to justify my personal preferences to you, junior.”

“You like it for the romance.”

Harvey took a paper towel to dry his hands. “You got me. I simply melt when Luke kisses his own sister.”

“No, you like the banter between Leia and Han. They trade jabs like we do.”

Harvey sighed and threw the towel into the trash. “I like the snow.”

“What?”

“I like the snow. I like snow movies.”

“You like snow movies.”

“Yes. Got a problem with that?”

“No, I just didn’t expect you to say that.”

“What did you expect me to say?”

“Honestly? I expected you to offer some brilliant explanation and then to call me Leia.”

“That would have been the obvious route. And this way, I win: you basically called yourself Leia, which, based on your own example, makes me Han. Not that anyone would mix us up; I’m totally Han.”

“I walked right into that.”

“Yes. Yes you did.”

Mike recovered quickly. “Yeah, I mean the Han thing does make sense. You _would_ shoot first.”

“Greedo shot first, everyone knows that.”

Mike looked offended. “Can we not talk about this? I don’t think our friendship could survive that debate.”

“We’re friends now?” Harvey asked as Mike turned to the door, ready to leave.

“Yes?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Mike turned back to Harvey. “You sound disappointed.”

“No. Not disappointed. Just mildly taken aback.”

“What? Why? And do people still say ‘taken aback’?”

“Mike, look. You know I don’t fuck around, so I’m just going to put this out there. We’ve worked together for some time now. We have a certain level of trust between us. I like to think we’ve grown pretty close." He paused. "I’m judging by the way your mouth is hanging open right now you disagree.”

Mike’s eyes were huge. “I don’t. Disagree, I mean. I’m just…um…mildly taken aback? I’m at a loss for words.”

“Obviously, Shakespeare. Allow me to continue. As I was saying, I like to think we’ve grown pretty close. So with that said, I’m going to kiss you. I’m telling you so you can tell me to stop if you don’t want me to.”

Mike didn’t say anything; he just stood still with his back against the door.

Harvey took Mike’s silence as a green light and placed a hand on the door next to his head. He leaned in and touched their lips together. Mike responded instantly, opening up when Harvey deepened the kiss.

The hand that wasn’t planted on the door slid to the back of Mike’s head and pulled gently on the soft hairs there. Mike gave a full-body shudder, and Harvey smiled and broke the kiss. They both looked ruffled, off-kilter, and happy.

“See?” Harvey said. “I’m totally Han.”

“ _I love you_ ,” Mike said a little breathlessly.

“ _I know_.”


End file.
